Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Did the Pandemic Change Our Personalities? – Neuroscience News

Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic may have altered the trajectory of personality in individuals, especially in younger people.

Source: PLOS

Despite a long-standing hypothesis that personality traits are relatively impervious to environmental pressures, the COVID-19 pandemic may have altered the trajectory of personality across the United States, especially in younger adults, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journalPLOS ONEby Angelina Sutin of Florida State University College of Medicine, and colleagues.

Previous studies have generally found no associations between collective stressful eventssuch as earthquakes and hurricanesand personality change. However, the coronavirus pandemic has affected the entire globe and nearly every aspect of life.

In the new study, the researchers used longitudinal assessments of personality from 7,109 people enrolled in the online Understanding America Study.

They compared five-factor modelpersonality traitsneuroticism, extraversion,openness, agreeableness andconscientiousnessbetween pre-pandemic measurements (May 2014February 2020) and assessments early (MarchDecember 2020) or later (2021-2022) in the pandemic.

A total of 18,623 assessments, or a mean of 2.62 per participant, were analyzed. Participants were 41.2% male and ranged in age from 18 to 109.

Consistent with other studies, there were relatively few changes between pre-pandemic and 2020 personality traits, with only a small decline in neuroticism.

However, there were declines in extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness when 2021-2022 data was compared to pre-pandemic personality.

The changes were about one-tenth of a standard deviation, which is equivalent to about one decade of normative personality change.

The changes were moderated by age, with younger adults showing disrupted maturity in the form of increased neuroticism and decreased agreeableness and conscientiousness, and the oldest group of adults showing no statistically significant changes in traits.

The authors conclude that if these changes are enduring, it suggests that population-wide stressful events can slightly bend the trajectory of personality, especially in younger adults.

The authors add that there was limitedpersonality changeearly in the pandemic but striking changes starting in 2021. Of most note, the personality of young adults changed the most, with marked increases in neuroticism and declines inagreeablenessand conscientiousness.

That is, younger adults became moodier and more prone to stress, less cooperative and trusting, and less restrained and responsible.

Author: Press OfficeSource: PLOSContact: Press Office PLOSImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Differential personality change earlier and later in the coronavirus pandemic in a longitudinal sample of adults in the United States by Angelina Sutin et al. PLOS ONE

Abstract

Differential personality change earlier and later in the coronavirus pandemic in a longitudinal sample of adults in the United States

Five-factor model personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness) are thought to be relatively impervious to environmental demands in adulthood.

The coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented opportunity to examine whether personality changed during a stressful global event. Surprisingly, two previous studies found that neuroticism decreased early in the pandemic, whereas there was less evidence for change in the other four traits during this period.

The present research used longitudinal assessments of personality from the Understanding America Study (N = 7,109; 18,623 assessments) to examine personality changes relatively earlier (2020) and later (20212022) in the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels. Replicating the two previous studies, neuroticism declined very slightly in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic levels; there were no changes in the other four traits.

When personality was measured in 20212022, however, there was no significant change in neuroticism compared to pre-pandemic levels, but there were significant small declines in extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

The changes were about one-tenth of a standard deviation, which is equivalent to about one decade of normative personality change. These changes were moderated by age and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, but not race or education. Strikingly, younger adults showed disrupted maturity in that they increased in neuroticism and declined in agreeableness and conscientiousness.

Current evidence suggests the slight decrease in neuroticism early in the pandemic was short-lived and detrimental changes in the other traits emerged over time.

If these changes are enduring, this evidence suggests population-wide stressful events can slightly bend the trajectory of personality, especially in younger adults.

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Did the Pandemic Change Our Personalities? - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Being Lonely and Unhappy Accelerates Aging More Than Smoking – Neuroscience News

Summary: Loneliness, restless sleep, and unhappiness have a significant effect on biological aging, a new study reports.

Source: Deep Longevity LTD

Molecular damage accumulates and contributes to the development of aging-related frailty and serious diseases. In some people these molecular processes are more intense than in others, a condition commonly referred to as accelerated aging.

Fortunately, the increased pace of aging may be detected before its disastrous consequences manifest by using digital models of aging (aging clocks). Such models can also be used to derive anti-aging therapies on individual and population levels.

According to the latestarticle published inAging-US, any anti-aging therapy needs to focus on ones mental health as much as on ones physical health.

An international collaboration led byDeep Longevitywith US and Chinese scientists have measured the effects of being lonely, having restless sleep, or feeling unhappy on the pace of aging and found it to be significant.

The article features a new aging clock trained and verified with blood and biometric data of 11,914 Chinese adults. This is the first aging clock to be trained exclusively on a Chinese cohort of such volume.

Aging acceleration was detected in people with a history of stroke, liver and lung diseases, smokers, and most interestingly, people in a vulnerable mental state. In fact, feeling hopeless, unhappy, and lonely was shown to increase ones biological age more than smoking.

Other factors linked to aging acceleration include being single and living in a rural area (due to the low availability of medical services).

The authors of the article conclude that the psychological aspect of aging should not be neglected either in research or in practical anti-aging applications.

According to Manuel Faria from Stanford University:

Mental and psychosocial states are some of the most robust predictors of health outcomes and quality of life yet they have largely been omitted from modern healthcare.

Alex Zhavoronkov, the CEO ofInsilico Medicine, points out that the study provides a course of action to slow down or even reverse psychological aging on a national scale.

Earlier this year, Deep Longevity released an AI-guided mental health web serviceFuturSelf.AIthat is based on a preceding publication in Aging-US.

The service offers a free psychological assessment that is processed by an AI and provides a comprehensive report on a users psychological age as well as current and future mental well-being.

Deepankar Nayak, the CEO of Deep longevity affirms, FuturSelf.AI, in combination with the study of older Chinese adults, positions Deep Longevity at the forefront of biogerontological research.

Author: Fedor GalkinSource: Deep Longevity LTDContact: Fedor Galkin Deep Lingevity LTDImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: The findings will appear in Aging-US

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Being Lonely and Unhappy Accelerates Aging More Than Smoking - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Metabolism Linked to Brain Health – Neuroscience News

Summary: Researchers have identified a link between metabolism and dementia-related brain measures. Obesity related to inflammation, kidney stress, or liver stress had the biggest impact on adverse brain health.

Source: University of South Australia

Every three seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with dementia. And while there is no known cure, changes in the brain can occur years before a dementia diagnosis.

Now, a world-first study from the University of South Australias Australian Center for Precision Health has found a link between metabolism and dementia-related brain measures, providing valuable insights about the disease.

Analyzing data from 26,239 people in the U.K. Biobank, researchers found that those with obesity related to liver stress, or to inflammation and kidney stress, had the most adverse brain findings.

The study measured associations of six diverse metabolic profiles and 39 cardiometabolic markers with MRI brain scan measures of brain volume, brain lesions, and iron accumulation, to identify early risk factors for dementia.

People with metabolic profiles linked to obesity were more likely to have adverse MRI profiles showing lower hippocampal and gray matter volumes, greater burden of brain lesions, and higher accumulation of iron.

UniSA researcher, Dr. Amanda Lumsden, says the research adds a new layer of understanding to brain health.

Dementia is a debilitating disease that affects more than 55 million people worldwide, Dr. Lumsden says.

Understanding metabolic factors and profiles associated with dementia-related brain changes can help identify early risk factors for dementia.

In this research, we found that adverse neuroimaging patterns were more prevalent among people who had metabolic types related to obesity.

These people also had the highest Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)how much energy your body requires when resting in order to support its basic functionsbut curiously, BMR seemed to contribute to adverse brain markers over and above the effects of obesity.

Senior Investigator, UniSAs Professor Elina Hyppnen says the finding presents a new avenue for understanding brain health.

This study indicates that metabolic profiles are associated with aspects ofbrainhealth. We also found associations with many individual biomarkers which may provide clues into the processes leading todementia, Prof Hyppnen says.

Thehuman bodyis complex, and more work is now needed to find out exactly why and how these associations arise.

Author: Press OfficeSource: University of South AustraliaContact: Press Office University of South AustraliaImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Metabolic profilebased subgroups can identify differences in brain volumes and brain iron deposition by Amanda L. Lumsden et al. Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism

Abstract

Metabolic profilebased subgroups can identify differences in brain volumes and brain iron deposition

To evaluate associations of metabolic profiles and biomarkers with brain atrophy, lesions, and iron deposition to understand the early risk factors associated with dementia.

Using data from 26239 UK Biobank participants free from dementia and stroke, we assessed the associations of metabolic subgroups, derived using an artificial neural network approach (self-organizing map), and 39 individual biomarkers with brain MRI measures: total brain volume (TBV), grey matter volume (GMV), white matter volume (WMV), hippocampal volume (HV), white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume, and caudate iron deposition.

In metabolic subgroup analyses, participants characterized by high triglycerides and liver enzymes showed the most adverse brain outcomes compared to the healthy reference subgroup with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low body mass index (BMI) including associations with GMV (standardized0.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.24 to 0.16), HV (standardized0.09, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.04), WMH volume (standardized0.22, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.26), and caudate iron deposition (standardized0.30, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.34), with similar adverse associations for the subgroup with high BMI, C-reactive protein and cystatin C, and the subgroup with high blood pressure (BP) and apolipoprotein B. Among the biomarkers, striking associations were seen between basal metabolic rate (BMR) and caudate iron deposition (standardized0.23, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.24 per 1 SD increase), GMV (standardized0.15, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.14) and HV (standardized0.11, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.10), and between BP and WMH volume (standardized0.13, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.14 for diastolic BP).

Metabolic profiles were associated differentially with brain neuroimaging characteristics. Associations of BMR, BP and other individual biomarkers may provide insights into actionable mechanisms driving these brain associations.

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Metabolism Linked to Brain Health - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Learning to decode the brain – The University of Iowa

Little did Snchez Melndez know that his student experience at Iowa would alter his career trajectory. First, the professor in a pharmacology class he took his sophomore year encouraged him to consider PhD programs. Then, an email from Jan Wessels Cognitive Neurology Lab invited him to participate in a weeklong summer workshop on campus for first-generation students interested in human brain research. Not only did Snchez Melndez learn to apply the neuroscience techniques he was studying in his classes, he got to know several UI faculty members, including Kristi Hendrickson, the researcher with whom he has been working eversince.

About the same time, the Iowa Sciences Academy shared information with Snchez Melndez about how to earn compensation for lab work. Now, he is a trainee with UI-MARC (Maximizing Access to Research Careers), a National Institutes of Healthfunded program that aims to prepare a diverse pool of undergraduates for research-focused biomedicalcareers.

If you would have told me when I was a senior in high school that in my senior year of college I would get a stipend, health care, and other benefits to work in a lab that I enjoy, I would have said that was too good to be true, he says. I didnt even know that waspossible.

As an undergraduate research assistant in the UI Psycholinguistics Lab, Snchez Melndez has contributed to several projects that use cognitive neuroscience techniques to study language and communication. He also was encouraged to create a study of hisown.

In the lab, we work with language in general, trying to understand how different groups of people process words and sentences, he says. In one project, we are trying to find out if SpanishEnglish bilinguals, across their lifespan, activate their first language when they hear a word in their second languageand vice versa. And do they do that in both written and spoken forms? Gaining a better understanding of this will help speech-language pathologists in their clinicalwork.

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Learning to decode the brain - The University of Iowa

Neuroscience

Young Men Feel the Most Threatened by Advances in Womens Rights – Neuroscience News

Summary: Young men between the ages of 18 and 29 are more likely to believe promoting womens rights threatens male opportunities than older men. Researchers suggest this modern sexism could motivate young men to vote for right-wing radical politicians who promote anti-feminist views.

Source: University of Gothenburg

It is not the older generation but young men who have the most difficulty in accepting advances in womens rights. This has been shown by a large study from the University of Gothenburg on gender equality and sexism in Europe.

In recent decades, Western democracies have become increasingly gender-equal. Girls and women tend to avail themselves of educational opportunities even more than men do, and more and more women are getting jobs in leading positions. But while gender equality is improving, research shows that modern sexism is working against womens rights.

One example of modern sexism is when people consider society as gender-equal and therefore oppose further efforts to promote womens rights. Their reasoning is based on the so-called zero-sum game notion, where progress for one group is seen as being at the expense of another.

Previous research shows that a perceived sense of injustice and competition between men and women affects political attitudes and voting behaviour.

Some people believe that increased gender equality only benefits women and do not see the benefits for society as a whole. Some research suggests that this feeling of injustice can even motivate citizens to vote for right-wing radical parties who are against feminism and sexual freedom, says Gefjon Off, doctoral student in political science.

The study covers 27 countriesTogether with Amy Alexander and Nicholas Charron, both political scientists at the University of Gothenburg, she has studied what lies behind the relatively high incidence of modern sexism among young men in Europe.

The study is based on a survey with 32,469 respondents in 27 EU countries. The respondents were asked to state to what extent they agree with the statement that promoting womens and girls rights has gone too far because it threatens mens and boys opportunities.

The results show that young men aged 18 to 29 most often agree with this statement in our survey. The older the men are, the less they agree with this statement. Some women agree with the statement, but to a far lesser extent than men of all ages. The results contradict previous research claiming that the older generation are the ones who are the most conservative and opposed to advances in womens rights, says Gefjon Off.

The researchers identified a couple of factors that explain why modern sexism is highest among young men aged between 18 and 29 years. The proportion is highest in regions where unemployment has risen the most in recent years, and where citizens have a widespread distrust of social institutions for example, due to widespread corruption.

Slovakia is the EU country in the study where the highest proportion of young men are opposed to advances in womens rights. In some regions there, unemployment has risen by as much as 1.1 percent in the last two years.

More than other EU citizens, Slovaks think that their own countrys public institutions are not impartial, that is, that their social institutions favour certain groups of people, says Nicholas Charron, Professor in political science.

The study also shows the inverse situation. In regions such as Northern Italy where unemployment has fallen and where social institutions are perceived as reasonably impartial, young men are less resistant to advances in womens rights.

Sweden among the top 10Unemployment also plays a role in Sweden. The study shows that the largest proportion of young men who agree with the survey statement that advances in womens rights threaten mens and boys opportunities live in regions where unemployment has risen in the last two years.

The gap between young womens and young mens views on advancing womens rights is great in Sweden, among the top 10 in the EU according to our measurements, says Nicholas Charron.

The fact that young men stand out in this context may be due to their position on the labour market: At a young age they may not yet have a stable job, or they may not have progressed as far in their careers as older men.

Possibly, young men who believe that women are outcompeting them in the labour market experience advances in womens rights as unjust and a threat. We need to get better at communicating the benefits of gender equality.

Fathers get to spend more time with their children and the burden of being the familys breadwinner is lightened when mothers in families also advance in their careers, says Gefjon Off.

Author: Thomas MelinSource: University of GothenburgContact: Thomas Melin University of GothenburgImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Who perceives womens rights as threatening to men and boys? Explaining modern sexism among young men in Europe by Gefjon Off et al. Frontiers in Political Science

Abstract

Who perceives womens rights as threatening to men and boys? Explaining modern sexism among young men in Europe

While Western democracies have become increasingly gender-equal over the past decades, recent research documents a backlash against gender equality in the form of rising modern sexism. Previous research shows that modern sexism predicts political attitudes and voting behavior that are detrimental to womens empowerment and liberalism.

Yet, we know little about which factors explain modern sexist attitudes and how they operate across multiple country contexts. Building on modern conceptualizations of sexism, we theorize that (perceived) increases in competition between men and women provoke modern sexism among young men in particular.

Using an original measure that approximates dimensions of modern sexism embedded in the 2021 EQI survey, capturing 32,469 individuals nested in 208 NUTS 2 regions in 27 European Union countries, we demonstrate that young men are most likely to perceive advances in womens rights as a threat to mens opportunities.

This is particularly true for young men who (a) consider public institutions in their region as unfair, and (b) reside in regions with recent increases in unemployment resulting in increased competition for jobs.

Our findings highlight the role of perceived competition between men and women in modern sexism and contradict the argument that older generations are most likely to backlash against progressive values, potentially adding to research explaining the recent backlash against gender equality.

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Young Men Feel the Most Threatened by Advances in Womens Rights - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Mechanisms of Psychostimulants on Attention and Learning Revealed – Neuroscience News

Summary: Psychostimulants increase dopamine levels, enhancing task-relevant cortical signals by acting on the striatum and the difference in dopamine synthesis capacity in the striatum explains the variability in the drugs cognitive effects.

Source: Human Brain Project

Psychostimulants are commonly used as treatments of psychiatric disorders or to improve cognition, but the benefits of these drugs are not the same for everyone, as their effects vary greatly both across individuals and within the same patient.

This large variability poses a major problem for treatment strategies in psychiatry, and the reasons behind it are still not clear.

Now, scientists of the Human Brain Project (HBP) have moved closer to understanding them.

One of these medications is methylphenidate, the active ingredient of the drugs Ritalin and Concerta that are used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but are also widely used by healthy people for its cognition-improving effects. Methylphenidate acts in part by increasing levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in the brains reward system.A new study by a team of researchers from Radboud University Medical Center (Netherlands) and Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior (Netherlands) unravels the mechanisms by which methylphenidate gates both attention and reward learning.

The researchers tested the hypothesis that the effects of methylphenidate on learning based on reward or punishment depend on the baseline levels of dopamine in a persons brain.

To test this, one hundred young healthy adults received (in different sessions) methylphenidate, sulpiride (a medication used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia that acts more selectively on dopamine receptors), or a placebo, and were later scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a reward/punishment reversal learning task. In this task, participants learned to predict whether a picture (of a face or a landscape) that is selected by the computer is followed by reward or punishment.

A reward outcome consisted of a green smiley and a + 100 sign. A punishment consisted of a red sad smiley and a -100 sign. Whether the face or the landscape was associated with reward or punishment changed frequently in the task, so to perform well people had to continue to pay attention and flexibly update their behaviour based on prediction errors.The researchers observed that the degree to which both methylphenidate and sulpiride improved reward compared with punishment learning depends on baseline dopamine synthesis capacity.

Moreover, these effects on learning were accompanied by increased activity in the striatum, a dopamine-rich region deep inside the brain, and also by increased specificity of the activity in regions of the cortex near the back of the brain that are specialised for processing faces and landscapes.Their findings provide strong support for two hypotheses related to methylphenidate: First, that dopamine enhances task-relevant cortical signals by acting on the striatum. Second, that differences between individuals in dopamine synthesis capacity in the striatum explain the variability in the drugs cognitive effects.

Author: Peter ZekertSource: Human Brain ProjectContact: Peter Zekert Human Brain ProjectImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Striatal dopamine dissociates methylphenidate effects on value-based versus surprise-based reversal learning by Roshan Coolset al. Nature Communications

Abstract

Striatal dopamine dissociates methylphenidate effects on value-based versus surprise-based reversal learning

Psychostimulants such as methylphenidate are widely used for their cognitive enhancing effects, but there is large variability in the direction and extent of these effects.

We tested the hypothesis that methylphenidate enhances or impairs reward/punishment-based reversal learning depending on baseline striatal dopamine levels and corticostriatal gating of reward/punishment-related representations in stimulus-specific sensory cortex.

Young healthy adults (N=100) were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging during a reward/punishment reversal learning task, after intake of methylphenidate or the selective D2/3-receptor antagonist sulpiride.

Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity was indexed with [18F]DOPA positron emission tomography. Methylphenidate improved and sulpiride decreased overall accuracy and response speed.

Both drugs boosted reward versus punishment learning signals to a greater degree in participants with higher dopamine synthesis capacity. By contrast, striatal and stimulus-specific sensory surprise signals were boosted in participants with lower dopamine synthesis.

These results unravel the mechanisms by which methylphenidate gates both attention and reward learning.

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Mechanisms of Psychostimulants on Attention and Learning Revealed - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Long-Term Study Supports Link Between Inflammation and Cognitive Problems in Older Breast Cancer Survivors – Neuroscience News

Summary: Higher levels of the inflammatory C-reactive protein were discovered in older breast cancer survivors who experienced cognitive issues. The study is one of the first long-term assessments linking chronic inflammation to cognitive decline in breast cancer survivors.

Source: UCLA

Scientists are still trying to understand why many breast cancer survivors experience troubling cognitive problems for years after treatment. Inflammation is one possible culprit.

Anew long-term studyof older breast cancer survivors published today in theJournal of Clinical Oncologyand co-led by UCLA researchers adds important evidence to that potential link.

Higher levels of an inflammatory marker known as C-reactive protein (CRP) were related to older breast cancer survivors reporting cognitive problems in the new study.

Blood tests for CRP are used routinely in the clinic to determine risk of heart disease. Our study suggests this common test for inflammation might also be an indicator of risk for cognitive problems reported by breast cancer survivors, said study lead author Judith Carroll, an associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and faculty member of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study, called the Thinking and Living with Cancer (TLC) Study, is one of the first long-term efforts to examine the potential link between chronic inflammation and cognition in breast cancer survivors 60 and older, who make up a majority of the nearly 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

Previous research has focused largely on younger women and women immediately after therapy, making it difficult to draw conclusions about CRPs role in long-term cognitive problems among older breast cancer survivors.

In TLC, teams of researchers from around the country talked to, and obtained blood samples from, hundreds of breast cancer survivors and women without cancer up to 6 times over the course of 5 years. The study was motivated by hearing from survivors and advocates that cognitive problems are one of their major worries.

Cognitive issues affect womens daily lives years after completing treatment, and their reports of their own ability to complete tasks and remember things was the strongest indicator of problems in this study, said co-senior study author Dr. Jeanne Mandelblatt, a professor of oncology at Georgetown University who is the lead of the TLC study.

Being able to test for levels of inflammation at the same time that cognition was being rigorously evaluated gave the TLC team a potential window into the biology underlying cognitive concerns, said Elizabeth C. Breen, a professor emerita of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA, who also served as co-senior study author.

Cognition, from the perspective of each woman, was evaluated through a commonly used questionnaire assessing how the women perceive their ability to remember things like names and direction, ability to concentrate, and other aspects of everyday life.

The study found higher CRP levels among survivors were predictive of lower reported cognitive function among breast cancer survivors. There was no similar relationship between CRP levels and reported cognition in the women without cancer.

Cognitive performance, as measured by standardized neuropsychological tests, failed to show a link between CRP and cognition. The authors say this may indicate women are more sensitive to differences in their everyday cognitive function, self-reporting changes that other tests miss.

The authors said their study supports the need for research on whether interventions that can lower inflammation including increased physical activity, better sleep, and anti-inflammatory medications may prevent or reduce cognitive concerns in older breast cancer survivors.

Other study authors include Zev M. Nakamura, Brent J. Small, Xingtao Zhou, Harvey J. Cohen, Tim A. Ahles, Jaeil Ahn, Traci N. Bethea, Martine Extermann, Deena Graham, Claudine Isaacs, Heather S.L. Jim, Paul B. Jacobsen, Brenna C. McDonald, Sunita K. Patel, Kelly Rentscher, James Root, Andrew J. Saykin, Danielle B. Tometich, Kathleen Van Dyk, and Wanting Zhai. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Author: Jason MillmanSource: UCLAContact: Jason Millman UCLAImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Elevated C-Reactive Protein and Subsequent Patient-Reported Cognitive Problems in Older Breast Cancer Survivors: The Thinking and Living With Cancer Study by Judith Carroll et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology

Abstract

Elevated C-Reactive Protein and Subsequent Patient-Reported Cognitive Problems in Older Breast Cancer Survivors: The Thinking and Living With Cancer Study

PURPOSE

To examine longitudinal relationships between levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and cognition in older breast cancer survivors and noncancer controls.

METHODS

English-speaking women age 60 years, newly diagnosed with primary breast cancer (stage 0-III), and frequency-matched controls were enrolled from September 2010 to March 2020; women with dementia, neurologic disorders, and other cancers were excluded. Assessments occurred presystemic therapy/enrollment and at annual visits up to 60 months. Cognition was measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function and neuropsychological testing. Mixed linear effect models tested for survivor-control differences in natural log (ln)-transformed CRP at each visit. Random effectlagged fluctuation models tested directional effects of ln-CRP on subsequent cognition. All models controlled for age, race, study site, cognitive reserve, obesity, and comorbidities; secondary analyses evaluated if depression or anxiety affected results.

RESULTS

There were 400 survivors and 329 controls with CRP specimens and follow-up data (average age of 67.7 years, range: 60-90 years). The majority of survivors had stage I (60.9%), estrogen receptorpositive (87.6%) tumors. Survivors had significantly higher adjusted mean ln-CRP than controls at baseline and 12-, 24-, and 60-month visits (allP< .05). Higher adjusted ln-CRP predicted lower participant-reported cognition on subsequent visits among survivors, but not controls (Pinteraction = .008); effects were unchanged by depression or anxiety. Overall, survivors had adjusted Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function scores that were 9.5 and 14.2 points lower than controls at CRP levels of 3.0 and 10.0 mg/L. Survivors had poorer neuropsychological test performance (vcontrols), with significant interactions with CRP only for the Trails B test.

CONCLUSION

Longitudinal relationships between CRP and cognition in older breast cancer survivors suggest that chronic inflammation may play a role in development of cognitive problems. CRP testing could be clinically useful in survivorship care.

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Long-Term Study Supports Link Between Inflammation and Cognitive Problems in Older Breast Cancer Survivors - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Regularly Exercising With Weights Linked to Lower Risk of Death – Neuroscience News

Summary: Regular weight training exercise is associated with a reduced risk of death, a new study reports. Incorporating aerobic exercise with weight-based exercise adds to the protective effect.

Source: BMJ

Regularly exercising with weights is linked to a lower risk of death from any cause, with the exception of cancer, finds research carried out in older adults and published online in theBritish Journal of Sports Medicine.

And ensuring that a weekly exercise routine includes both weights and aerobic activities seems to have an additive effect, the findings suggest.

Current guidelines on physical activity for all adults recommend at least 150 weekly minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity, or a minimum of 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity, or an equal combination of the twousually referred to as MVPA (moderate to vigorous physical activity).

All adults are also recommended to incorporate activities that work all the major muscle groups. Yet while aerobic exercise is consistently associated with a lower risk of death, its not clear if working out with weights might have similar effects.

In a bid to plug this knowledge gap, the researchers set out to evaluate separately and jointly the potential impact of exercising with weights and aerobic activities on the risk of death among older adults.

They drew on participants from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. This began in 1993 and includes 154,897 men and women aged 5574 from 10 different cancer centres in the United States.

In 2006, 104,002 of the participants were additionally asked if they had exercised with weights over the past year, and if so, how often they had done soanything from less than once a month to several times a week.

And they were asked about the frequency and duration of both moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity over the past year.

Moderate intensity was described as activity where you worked up a light sweat or increased your breathing and heart rate to moderately high levels and vigorous activity as activity strenuous enough to work up a sweat or increase your breathing and heart rate to very high levels.

Four activity groups were generated based on total weekly minutes of MVPA: (1) inactive, 0 minutes; (2) insufficient aerobic MVPA, 1149 minutes; (3) sufficient, 150+ minutes of moderate, or an equivalent amount of vigorous, activity; and (4) highly active, 301 or more minutes of moderate, or an equivalent amount of vigorous, activity.

In all, the responses of 99,713 people were included in the final analysis, 28,477 of whom died over an average of 9 years of monitoring. Their average age at the start of the monitoring period was 71, and the average weight (BMI) was 27.8 kg/m2which is defined as overweight.

Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) respondents reported some weightlifting activity; 16% said they exercised with weights regularly between one to six times a week. Nearly a third (32%) were sufficiently aerobically active, either meeting (24%) or exceeding (8%) the guidelines on MVPA.

Exercising with weights and aerobic MVPA were both independently associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, as well as from cardiovascular disease, but not from cancer.

Overall, working out with weights in the absence of MVPA was associated with a 9-22% lower risk of death, depending on the amount: for example, using weights once or twice a week was associated with a 14% lower risk.

Similarly, among those who didnt exercise with weights, aerobic MVPA was associated with a 24-34% lower risk of death from any cause, compared with those who reported neither MVPA nor exercising with weights.

But the lowest risk of death was seen among those who said they did both types of physical activity.

For example, the risk of death was 41-47% lower among those who said they met most recommended weekly levels of MVPA and who exercised with weights once or twice a week than it was among those who were physically inactive.

Educational attainment, smoking, BMI, race and ethnicity didnt significantly change the associations observed, but sex did: the associations were stronger in women.

This is an observational study, and as such, cant establish cause, added to which it relied on personal recall and included data from a single point in time. Specific details on training intensity, training load, volume (sets and repetitions), and for how long participants had been exercising with weights werent available, all of which may have influenced the findings.

The study focused only on weights, but there are other types of muscle strengthening exercise, say the researchers, citing callisthenics, which include push-ups and squats; Pilates; and plyometric exercises, which include tuck jumps and burpees.

Using weights can make a body leaner: total lean mass is independently associated with a lower risk of death, say the researchers by way of an explanation for their findings. And if done in a gym, could also be very sociableanother factor associated with a longer, healthier life.

Our finding that mortality risk appeared to be lowest for those who participated in both types of exercise provides strong support for current recommendations to engage in both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, they write.

Older adults would probably benefit from adding weightlifting exercises to their physical activity routines, they conclude.

Author: BMJ Media RelationsSource: BMJContact: BMJ Media Relations BMJImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.Independent and joint associations of weightlifting and aerobic activity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial by Charles E Matthews et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine

Abstract

Independent and joint associations of weightlifting and aerobic activity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial

Objectives

Both aerobic moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE) are recommended, but the mortality benefits of weightlifting, a specific type of MSE, are limited.

Methods

In the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, we used Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for the associations between weightlifting and mortality, adjusting for demographics, lifestyle and behavioural risk factors. The sample included 99713 adults who completed the follow-up questionnaire that assessed weightlifting who were subsequently followed up through 2016 to determine mortality (median 9, IQR 7.610.6 years).

Results

Mean age at the follow-up questionnaire was 71.3 (IQR 6676) years, 52.6% female, with mean body mass index of 27.8 (SD 4.9) kg/m2. Weightlifting was associated with a 9% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR=0.91 (95% CI 0.88 to 0.94)) and CVD mortality (0.91 (95% CI 0.86 to 0.97)) after adjusting for MVPA. Joint models revealed that adults who met aerobic MVPA recommendations but did not weightlift had a 32% lower all-cause mortality risk (HR=0.68 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.70)), while those who also reported weightlifting 12times/week had a 41% lower risk (HR=0.59 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.64)), both compared with adults reporting no aerobic MVPA or weightlifting. Without adjustment for MVPA, weightlifting was associated with lower cancer mortality (HR=0.85 (95% CI 0.80 to 0.91)).

Conclusion

Weightlifting and MVPA were associated with a lower risk of all-cause and CVD mortality, but not cancer mortality. Adults who met recommended amounts of both types of exercise appeared to gain additional benefit.

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Regularly Exercising With Weights Linked to Lower Risk of Death - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Loneliness Associated With Double the Risk of Developing Diabetes – Neuroscience News

Summary: Higher rates of loneliness were associated with an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes during a twenty-year follow-up, a new study reveals.

Source: Diabetologia

A new study published inDiabetologia(the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) finds that feelings of loneliness are linked to a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D).

The research was conducted by Associate Professor Roger E. Henriksen and his colleagues at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. As well as examining the association between loneliness and the risk of developing T2D, it looked at whether depression and insomnia play a role.

A growing body of research has pointed to a link between psychological stress and an individuals risk of developing T2D.

Loneliness creates a chronic and sometimes long-lasting state of distress which may activate the bodys physiological stress response.

While the exact mechanisms are not fully understood, this response is believed to play a central role in the development of T2D through mechanisms such as temporary insulin resistance brought on by elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

This process also involves changes in the regulation of eating behaviour by the brain, causing an increased appetite for carbohydrates and subsequent elevated blood sugar levels. Previous studies have found an association between loneliness and unhealthy eating including higher consumption of sugary drinks and foods rich in sugars and fats.

The researchers used data from the HUNT study, a collaboration between the HUNT Research Centre (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology [NTNU]), Trndelag County Council, the Central Norway Regional Health Authority and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

This database contains the health information (from self-reported questionnaires, medical examinations and blood samples) of more than 230,000 people and obtained via four population surveys: HUNT1 (1984-1986), HUNT2 (1995-1997), HUNT3 (2006-2008) and HUNT4 (2017-2019).

Baseline information for 24,024 participants was taken from HUNT2 after excluding individuals with metabolic disorders, type 1 and type 2 diabetes and those for whom blood test data were not available. T2D status was the main outcome variable and was based on HbA1c(glycated haemoglobin a measure of long-term blood sugar control) being greater than 48mmol/mol when measured in the HUNT4 survey.

Loneliness was gauged from HUNT2 data survey whether they had felt lonely over the previous 2 weeks and was measured on a four-point scale (no, a little, a good amount and very much).

Severity of depression symptoms were assessed using questionnaire completed during HUNT3 which consisted of 7 questions, each scored on a scale of 0-3 for a total of 0-21 points, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms.

Individuals with insomnia were identified based on their answers to the questions: How often in the last 3 months have you: had difficulty falling asleep at night, woken up repeatedly during the night and woken too early and couldnt get back to sleep, respectively.

These were asked as part of HUNT3 and participants could choose one of three answers: never/seldom, sometimes and several times a week.

Out of 24,024 people, 1,179 (4.9%) went on to develop T2D over the course of the study (1995-2019). These individuals were more likely to be men (59% vs 44%) and had a higher mean age (48 years vs 43 years) than those without T2D. They were also more likely to be married (73% vs 68%) and have the lowest level of education (35% vs 23%). Feelings of loneliness were reported by 13% of participants.

The study found that higher levels of loneliness at baseline were strongly associated with a higher risk of T2D when measured 20 years later. After adjusting for age, sex and education level they found that participants who responded very much when asked whether they had felt lonely were twice as likely to develop T2D than those who did not feel lonely.

Further analysis showed that this relationship was not altered by the presence of depression, sleep-onset insomnia or terminal insomnia, although the team did find evidence of a link to sleep maintenance insomnia.

Although their study did not examine the exact mechanisms involved, the researchers note that social support, influence and engagement may have positive effects on health-promoting behaviours.

For example, advice and support from a friend may influence an individuals health-related choices and have a positive effect on their diet, physical activity level and overall feelings of stress. Fewer social ties and a lack of these positive influences can make lonely people more vulnerable to behaviour which could increase the risk of developing T2D.

The researchers advise that loneliness should be included in clinical guidelines relating to T2D. They say: It is important that healthcare providers are open to dialogue about an individuals concerns during clinical consultations, including with regard to loneliness and social interaction.

The authors recommend that further research is carried out into the mechanisms at play in the link between loneliness and T2D as well as the roles played by insomnia and depression.

They conclude: Questions to be answered are the extent to which loneliness leads to the activation of stress responses, the extent to which loneliness affects health-related behaviour and, importantly, how these two pathways interact in terms of contributing to an increased risk of T2D.

Author: Judy NaylorSource: DiabetologiaContact: Judy Naylor DiabetologiaImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Open access.Loneliness increases the risk of type 2 diabetes: a 20 year follow-up results from the HUNT study by Roger E. Henriksen et al. Diabetologia

Abstract

Loneliness increases the risk of type 2 diabetes: a 20 year follow-up results from the HUNT study

Type 2 diabetes is one of the leading causes of death globally and its incidence has increased dramatically over the last two decades. Recent research suggests that loneliness is a possible risk factor for type 2 diabetes. This 20 year follow-up study examined whether loneliness is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. As both loneliness and type 2 diabetes have been linked to depression and sleep problems, we also investigated whether any association between loneliness and type 2 diabetes is mediated by symptoms of depression and insomnia.

We used data from the Trndelag Health Study (HUNT study), a large longitudinal health study based on a population from central Norway (n=24,024). Self-reports of loneliness (HUNT2 survey, 19951997) and data on HbA1clevels (HUNT4 survey, 20172019) were analysed to evaluate the associations between loneliness and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Associations were reported as ORs with 95% CIs, adjusted for sex, age and education. We further investigated the role of depression and insomnia as potential mediating factors.

During the 20 year follow-up period, 4.9% of the study participants developed type 2 diabetes. Various degrees of feeling lonely were reported by 12.6% of the participants. Individuals who felt most lonely had a twofold higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes relative to those who did not feel lonely (adjusted OR 2.19 [95% CI 1.16, 4.15]). The effect of loneliness on type 2 diabetes was weakly mediated by one subtype of insomnia but not by symptoms of depression.

This study suggests that loneliness may be one factor that increases the risk of type 2 diabetes; however, there is no strong support that the effect of loneliness on type 2 diabetes is mediated by depression or insomnia. We recommend that loneliness should be included in clinical guidelines on consultations and interventions related to type 2 diabetes.

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Loneliness Associated With Double the Risk of Developing Diabetes - Neuroscience News

Neuroscience

Potential Therapeutic Targets to Prevent Hearing Loss Caused by Antibiotics – Neuroscience News

Summary: Researchers have identified an autophagy pathway in hair cells in the ear thats linked to permanent hearing loss that occurs as a result of exposure to aminoglycosides antibiotics in some patients.

Source: Indiana University

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine are developing new ways to study why an antibiotic causes hair cell death and permanent hearing loss in people.

In astudy recently published inDevelopmental Cell, the researchers explained how they identified the autophagy pathway in hair cells thats linked to permanent hearing loss brought about by aminoglycosidesa class of antibiotics.

The researchers also developed one of the first laboratory models thats insusceptible to aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss.

This work identifies multiple potential therapeutic targets for preventing hearing loss caused by aminoglycosides, saidBo Zhao, PhD, assistant professor of otolaryngologyhead and neck surgery.

Ototoxicityhearing loss caused by medicationis one of the main causes of hearing loss in humans. More than 48 million people in the United States experience trouble hearing.

Aminoglycosides for nearly a century have been used to treat severe infections. Although the drug is a first-line treatment for life-threatening infectionsparticularly in developing countriesdue to their low cost and low incidence of antibiotic resistance, it has been reported to cause hair cell death and subsequent permanent hearing loss among 20-47% of patients, but the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Hair cells are responsible for sound reception in the inner ear.

Zhao, whose lab investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying hearing loss, used biochemical screening to identify proteins found in hair cells. They first discovered that aminoglycosides bound to the protein RIPOR2, which is required for auditory perception.

As aminoglycosides specifically trigger a rapid localization change of RIPOR2 in hair cells, we hypothesize that RIPOR2 is essential for aminoglycoside-induced hair cell death, Zhao said.

The researchers developed a model in the lab that has normal hearing but significantly decreased RIPOR2 expression. Through these experiments, Zhao said the model had neither significant hair cell death nor hearing loss after treatment of aminoglycosides.

We then discovered RIPOR2 regulates the autophagy pathway in hair cells. Knowing this, we developed other laboratory models without the expression of several key autophagy proteins that did not exhibit hair cell death or hearing loss when treated with the antibiotic, saidJinan Li, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Zhao lab and first author of the paper.

The study authors say the proteins identified in this study could potentially be used as drug targets to prevent aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss in future studies.

In addition to Zhao and Li, authors of the article includeChang Liu, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Zhao lab, andUlrich Mueller, PhD, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience and Biology at Johns Hopkins University. Funding for the research was provided by the National Institutes of Health and IU School of Medicine.

Author: Christina GriffithsSource: Indiana UniversityContact: Christina Griffiths Indiana UniversityImage: The image is in the public domain

Original Research: Closed access.RIPOR2-mediated autophagy dysfunction is critical for aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss by Bo Zhao et al. Developmental Cell

Abstract

RIPOR2-mediated autophagy dysfunction is critical for aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss

Aminoglycosides (AGs) are potent antibiotics that are capable of treating a wide variety of life-threatening infections; however, they are ototoxic and cause irreversible damage to cochlear hair cells.

Despite substantial progress, little is known about the molecular pathways critical for hair cell function and survival that are affected by AG exposure.

We demonstrate here that gentamicin, a representative AG antibiotic, binds to and within minutes triggers translocation of RIPOR2 in murine hair cells from stereocilia to the pericuticular area.

Then, by interacting with a central autophagy component, GABARAP, RIPOR2 affects autophagy activation. Reducing the expression of RIPOR2 or GABARAP completely prevents AG-induced hair cell death and subsequent hearing loss in mice.

Additionally, abolishing the expression of PINK1 or Parkin, two key mitochondrial autophagy proteins, prevents hair cell death and subsequent hearing loss caused by AG. In summary, our study demonstrates that RIPOR2-mediated autophagic dysfunction is essential for AG-induced hearing loss.

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Potential Therapeutic Targets to Prevent Hearing Loss Caused by Antibiotics - Neuroscience News